Nadal lost in Madrid to Alcaraz, the young Spanish is waiting for Djokovic

In the semifinals of the Masters tournament, Alcaraz will face world number one Novak Djokovic for the first time in his career. The Serbian tennis player managed the duel with the Pole Hubert Hurkacz smoothly and after a certain performance he won 6: 3, 6: 4.

Djokovic will play the 72nd semifinal of the Masters in his career, with only Nadal (76) having more starts among the top four in events of the elite category. The Serbian tennis player in Spanish clay is aiming for the 38th Masters title and the fourth Madrid title. He triumphed here in 2011, 2016 and 2019.

Alcaraz, who became the youngest quarterfinalist in Madrid in history, was in perfect retaliation for last year’s duel on local clay. While a year ago he played only three gems against his great role model, today on the court he unexpectedly reigned supreme in the opening set. In the second, however, he completely fell out of rhythm. The fall in the third game, after which he had his right ankle treated and taped, and a ten-minute break two games later due to the intervention of paramedics in the auditorium contributed to this.

In the third set, both opponents, who are 16 years and 11 months old, first kept their own service. In the fourth game, however, Nadal lost his serve with a clean game and did not get a chance to turn around. After 25 matches, his winning streak against the Spanish tennis players ended.

The holder of a record 21 grand slam titles returned to the tournaments in Madrid after a break of more than a month due to a rib injury.

Men’s and Women’s Tennis Tournament in Madrid (clay):

Men (subsidy 6,575,560 euros):

Singles – Quarterfinals: Djokovic (1-Srb.) – Hurkacz (12-Pol.) 6: 3, 6: 4, Alcaraz (7-Šp.) – Nadal (3-Šp.) 6: 2, 1: 6, 6: 3, Tsitsipas (4-Greece) – Rublyov (6-RUS) 6: 3, 2: 6, 6: 4.

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